A lesson in managing data in the education sector

Posted by Infinity on November 6, 2018

Organisations across the world have become heavily dependent on storing and accessing complex data and, of course, the case is no different in higher education.

Hundreds of thousands of pupils and staff at highly commendable institutions need instant access to the materials that will make their jobs or studying better. Whether it’s a set of lecture notes or the list of library books available on the 1832 Reform Act that students or staff are searching for, there is a high demand for information. Earlier this year, a chief information officer at Michigan State University revealed how he and his team are feeding departments across their campus with vital data to improve student life.

This university, and others, focus on delivering data to staff quickly to ensure they can make effective decisions swiftly. But, without the right physical infrastructure in place, it is difficult to turn this into a reality. Universities and other higher education bodies often face the dilemma of building on-campus data centres, hoping this will improve efficiency, at the expense of real-estate that students could learn and flourish in.

Is close proximity between the lecture halls and the data centres paramount to delivering a first class learning experience? Unlikely. Is there another way? Absolutely.

Universities, and similar educational establishments, can instead simultaneously run off-campus solutions that will help them reduce costs, and still provide students and staff with the fast access to the administrative and curriculum resources they need.

We are committed to providing the education sector with solutions that are both secure and flexible. Adopting an off-campus data centre also hands the responsibility of management and maintenance to a provider – saving the university time and budget. At Infinity SDC, we also provide on-demand data services, so our education partners only spend with us when they need to, and they can scale their requirements accordingly.

By outsourcing their data centres, educational institutions can save time, money and use those resources to focus on their future. For instance, by releasing space once occupied by a data centre and investing in architecture – such as libraries and research centres – they can further cement their legacies. No pun intended!